At his daily COVID-19 update in Ottawa, the Prime Minister says such a tragedy, as the deadly shooting rampage in Nova Scotia, should never have occurred.
He says violence of any kind has no place in Canada and Nova Scotia can count on the federal government’s full support during such an incredibly painful time.
A 23 year veteran member of the RCMP was among the dead, as was the gunman. The suspect was identified as 51 year old Gabriel Wortman, a denturist, who was killed during a confrontation with police at a gas station outside of Halifax. The violence started almost 100 kilometres away in Portapique and the death toll has continued to rise since Saturday night now believed to be at 18 victims.
The Prime Minister says the pandemic will prevent people from mourning together in person but a vigil will be held to celebrate the lives of the victims at 7 p.m. on Friday through the Facebook group Colchester Supporting Our Community.
Meanwhile a battle appears to be brewing over the sitting of the House of Commons. During his daily pandemic briefing, Justin Trudeau was asked is he’d be willing to hold two sessions a week in the House of Commons after Conservative leader Andrew Scheer called for the full House of Commons to resume Monday.
The Prime Minister is standing by his assertion that resuming parliament with all 338 members of parliament in attendance during the pandemic is not a good idea.
Trudeau has proposed once a week meetings with minimal in person representation in the house and says he recognizes they need to protect and uphold Canada’s democracy while ensuring proper accountability but at the same time doing that responsibly and he his hopeful they can come to a mutually agreed upon arrangement. (CJGX)
